In Nicaragua, the Pacific region is home to a forest ecosystem
adapted to low rainfall (800-1200 mm/year) distributed over a period of six
months (May to November) which is followed by a six months dry period (December
to April). As a consequence of the dry season, most trees are deciduous, losing
their leaves during this time. The appearance of this forest during the dry
season is similar to that of a temperate forest during winter, trees without
leaves, in contrast to the evergreen tropical rain forest.

Since colonial times, the tropical dry forest of Nicaragua has
been gradually diminishing (Table 1). In the last fifty years, with the
development of commercial agriculture (cotton, sugar cane and coffee), a major
change in the use of land has occurred; the needs for firewood and construction
(roads and cities) has further increased the pressure over the tropical dry
forest.

Impact from firewood and charcoal production

In 1998 PROLE, an NGO whose aims are to promote the
development and modernization of bioenergy in Nicaragua and Honduras, carried
out a preliminary survey in five traditional fuelwood production sites in the
Pacific region, to highlight the negative impacts on the environment,
particularly forest degradation and deforestation. It did this study with the
support of ESMAP (the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program), a joint
World Bank-UNDP programme.

Eight square kilometres of land, located in five sites in the
region, were analyzed for both deforestation and forest degradation from 1986 to
1996. Particular importance was given to observe the linkages between changes of
land use and fuelwood harvesting. It was found that deforestation appears
to be more associated with the changes of use of land from forest to agriculture
and cattle ranching whilst forest degradation appears to be directly
associated with fuelwood harvesting for both household and industrial firewood
and charcoal production.

Table 1: Difference between annual rate of wood harvesting
and natural wood regeneration for two types of forest in San Pablo community,
Nicaragua

Figure 2: Sustainable production
can be achieved if forest regulations are upheld

Also, in a more recent unpublished survey implemented by PROLE
within EMOLEP (Sustainable Fuelwood Supply and Efficient Demand Project Strategy
for the Pacific region), there were again indications that firewood is not
necessarily the main cause for either deforestation or forest degradation in the
Pacific region. In areas in which primary or very dense tropical dry forest are
being harvested for commercial firewood according to a management plan, the
harvesting levels were found to be below the forest production capacity, e.g.
not jeopardizing the sustainability of the forest ecosystems. However, these
primary or very dense tropical dry forests are today the exception rather than
the rule. There are indications that if this very dense forest has already being
harvested and degraded non-sustainably by timber harvesters, continuously
harvesting for firewood contributes a great deal to the further degradation and
eventual deforestation of the site.

Forest Regulations

Although there are forest regulations in Nicaragua which define
the legal and technical procedures needed to obtain a permit to harvest
fuelwood, enforcement is not a general rule. These regulations, if well
understood and applied in the field, provide an excellent tool to guide
landowners towards the sustainable management of forest resources, guaranteeing
a maximum productivity over a longer period of time, and with little or no
negative impact over the forest ecosystem.

In the case of the Pacific region of Nicaragua, lack of planning
has contributed to a degradation of the forest resources resulting in a
significant reduction in forest productivity, loss of biodiversity (including
many tree species, other plants and wildlife), loss or reduced watershed
capability, and soil erosion.

Causes of deforestation and forest degradation

The causes for a non-sustainable management of the dry forest
are many, but the main ones are:

· Lack of technical
knowledge in how to manage the dry forest: unfortunately, at present, the
appropriate knowledge to manage the dry forest effectively is not well known
among landowners and most of the foresters.

· Lack of long term security
over the forest resource: The National Constitution defines that all forest
resources belong to the nation, creating uncertainty over the government rights
to confiscate trees in private lands. Further, too many landowners do not have
proper land titles (either due to the high cost of the paperwork, or because of
land property rights disputes), creating uncertainty over the legal rights for
future land ownership.

· Lack of information about
forest products: Landowners usually do not have adequate knowledge about the
broad range of products and services that his or her forest can provide to
society, they also have insufficient information about markets and prices.

· Lack of awareness:
Environmental awareness is not yet well established among landowners in
Nicaragua, although there is a small but growing awareness.

· Lack of economical incentives:
There are no economic incentives for landowners to manage or protect the natural
dry forests properly. Fuelwood prices are very low, around US$ 6/tonne, which
does not provide any incentive for landowners to reinvest in management of the
forest; fuelwood prices do not reflect the cost of replanting. There are no
government-funded incentive schemes for natural forest management, such as tax
exemptions, and no resources are committed to forest protection or even
reforestation.

· Lack of adequate control: The
governmental regulating agencies such as the National Forest Institute and
municipal governments have insufficient resources, such as personnel and
transport, to control and monitor the use of the natural forests effectively.

· Lack of a positive government
attitude: In general, the government agencies do not have a positive attitude
toward the fuelwood sector, seeing them as depredators and difficult to control.
The fuelwood sector comprises people with little environmental and technical
awareness, who receive the lowest pay in the forestry sector. Government
policies and attitudes restrict the sector with many regulations and excessive
taxes. They do not understand the need to provide the fuelwood sector with
economic incentives, less bureaucracy and general assistance towards increased
profitability.

Hopes for Sustainability

In spite of the above, there are signs that the deforestation
and degradation of the tropical dry forest of Nicaragua by the fuel-wood sector
is about to be stopped. In the most recent surveys in the region, there are a
few examples of landowners, with financial support from fuel-wood merchants,
that are implementing successful sustainable forest management plans. This
indicates that it is possible to achieve rational use of the forest and that a
partnership with those most interested in sustaining the fuelwood business, such
as fuel merchants, is possible. The challenge will be disseminating these
examples so that they become the norm. Also, a few of the largest fuelwood
consuming industries are now establishing or seriously considering how to
establish fast-growing fuelwood plantations, and this will definitely reduce
pressure over the natural forest.

PROLE is helping to modernize the fuelwood sector of
Nicaragua. It is attracting the attention of international donors through its
work, including The World Bank, The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). A proposed
course of action being negotiated with such donors, includes a mechanism for
providing technical and financial incentives to landowners to achieve
sustainable forest management, establishing multiple purpose plantations,
developing a new less bureaucratic and effective legislation, and reducing
household fuelwood demand by promoting improved woodstoves and fuelwood
substitution. This last action may prove very important for Nicaragua, since the
latest PROLE household survey indicates that over 50% of the Nicaraguan
population uses fuel-wood for cooking, and within this group the majority uses
traditional woodstoves such as open fires (three stones) or semi-closed
(U-shaped) stoves.

With technical support from PROLE, the National Energy
Commission, a governmental executive agency, is developing the EMOLEP project.
The strategic plan will include supporting management of the natural forests,
fuelwood plantations, improved woodstoves and even fuelwood substitution. This
plan will be implemented by coordinating public and private organizations, and
will be presented to the international donors for financial and technical
support.

The information in this article indicates that Nicaragua is
perhaps at a turning point in its history of the use of fuelwood: from a history
of unsustainable and wasteful use of the fuelwood, toward a future of more
sustainable and efficient use of the fuel-wood.

Fuelwood harvesting for firewood and charcoal is not the main
factor causing the deforestation in the tropical dry forest of the Pacific
region of Nicaragua. The usual causes of deforestation are clearing of land for
agriculture and pastures. Timber harvesting, cattle ranching or even fuelwood
collection in forests already degraded by other forms of fuelwood production can
contribute to further forest degradation.

Fuelwood harvested in primary or dense forest under a management
plan can be done commercially within sustainable levels. Reforestation with
fast-growing multiple-purpose trees by larger fuelwood consuming industries can
reduce, by a significant level, the pressure on the natural dry forest of
Nicaragua.

The laws on forestry and the government agencies in Nicaragua
will neither control the fuelwood sector effectively nor provide incentives to
achieve sustainability. However, there are signs that management of the natural
forest for fuelwood is possible and that the fuelwood sector is concerned about
its future and is taking initiatives to modernize
it.